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ksjp008

White ice granite has rust stains?

11 years ago

Our new construction granite white ice was installed. There are some rust marks on the granite we haven't seen on any white ice granite before. The builder's vendor said that it is a normal characteristic of the white ice granite. We have been other houses that have white ice granite and go over white ice pictures online but didn't see any with those rust marks. It really looks like rust stains! Has anyone seen this in white ice? Maybe it's defected piece? Then it will be a fight with the builder.

Comments (32)

  • 11 years ago

    It's not defective. Iron ore is in the rock and because of weathering over the ages it produced rust. If there are large patches of rust, then you could have had the fabricator avoid those areas during templating. I have White Spring granite which has some areas that have rust and I think it's a beautiful addition because of the color.


    ksjp008 thanked jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
  • 11 years ago

    I have arctic cream granite (white) and it too has some orange rust spots. Mine don't bother me at all, but none of them are as large as your blotches seem to be. Can you take a picture from farther back? I'm just trying to get an idea of how large the spots actually are, and where they are placed.

    My gut says this is going to be an aesthetic issue and you may not get far with the builder.


    ksjp008 thanked User
  • 11 years ago

    I have persa avorio granite and it has some of the rust look in it but I love it! Then again I didn't want a stone that was uniform in colour. I love the variations, which is why I had such a hard time finding a stone I liked.

    ksjp008 thanked Huntingflower
  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Like the resin pools in engineered stone are a feature, rust in granite is a feature too. It's only going to continue, so I'd start decorating with orange.

    ksjp008 thanked Joseph Corlett, LLC
  • 11 years ago

    Totally normal for most granites. It's not iron ore, but granite (true granite in the geologic sense) has minor amounts of iron-rich minerals. I don't know how fast it would continue to oxidize, but I would not expect it to be rapid since there's really not much iron in the rock in the first place.


    ksjp008 thanked karin_mt
  • 11 years ago

    Mine has remained exactly the same as when we bought it three years ago. No need to decorate with orange although it is an excellent mid-century modern color.


    ksjp008 thanked jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
  • 11 years ago

    FWIW, the orange in mine has not spread at all in the past 3 years either.


    ksjp008 thanked User
  • 11 years ago

    I have white ice granite and it also has some small rust spots. It bothered me at first but now I'm used to it!

    ksjp008 thanked jellyben
  • 11 years ago

    My gosh, it is a natural material. If you expected something uniform maybe you should have put in plastic!

    Not meant to sound sarcastic but there are variations in natural materials as there should be.

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Wouldn't the OP have seen the slab beforehand and noticed the rust spots? That would have been the time to speak up.

  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Expectations. Expectations. Expectations.

    The builder/seller/etc should have mentioned that granite is a natural product, and as such, without laying eyes on the slab that will be used, there is no way to tell exactly what it will look like.

    This is why I like to keep several samples of the same stones on hand, because the colors/hues/movements change from lot to lot over time.

    Also why I have every customer understand that unless they go see a slab/lot, there is no guarantee that the actual finish product will be the same as the sample.

    30 seconds searching white ice on google images shows there are all sorts of variations.


  • 11 years ago

    Also why I have every customer understand that unless they go see a slab/lot, there is no guarantee that the actual finish product will be the same as the sample

    Based on the original post, it's clear the OP did NOT see the actual slab. I'm not even saying she has a 'case', just that I too would be disappointed if I expected white granite, and got white & rust granite.

    ksjp008 thanked sjhockeyfan325
  • 11 years ago

    There really is no purely white granite. If you want all white, then Corian or Caesarstone would be a much better choice. I also can sympathize with the OP but there is no one to blame really - some people would think the rust is cool, and others would not. The fabricators do not know if no one tells them. If you tend to be a picky person, then you should know yourself enough to make sure you see even a photograph of the slab. I just can't imagine spending $3,000+ and not see what you are buying. Also, I could be wrong but I have a feeling that all those slabs with "imperfections" go to those people who do not insist upon seeing them before they are installed.

  • 11 years ago

    I do have Ceasarstone! Guess it was a good choice for me LOL

  • PRO
    11 years ago

    I've already gotten the call from the lady who bought white and it's getting more and more orange spots. You can look at slabs until your eyes fall out, but this is natural stone and you're going to get what you're going to get when you're going to get it. Get comfortable with that or pick an alternative surface.

  • 10 years ago

    Can granite continue getting more orange spots after it's sealed and installed. I can't decide if my white persa granite is getting more orange markings or if I just didn't notice them. (I picked it out from the granite yard and my husband met with the fabricator before it was cut.) It was installed mid November 2015.

  • 10 years ago

    I have white ice and it has rust spots too. It's just part of the natural product. It has a lot of great features as well - ice-like chunks, black streaks, mica. I love it.

  • PRO
    10 years ago

    "Can granite continue getting more orange spots after it's sealed and installed?"


    Although I have no scientific proof, it stands to reason that if there are iron-rich minerals in the stone and there is humidity in the air, it will continue to rust.

  • 9 years ago

    I bought a granite remnant from my local granite supplier / fabricator who has been in business for years. It had some rusty looking stains that detracted from the light stone. He told me that I could remove them with wood bleach or a paste of casting plaster. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping it will work.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    You'll only permanently stop them with a Dremel with diamond tips and a FillAChip kit. Don't be scared; go deep.

  • 6 years ago

    I have the same thing, but I look at it as "million year old rust".

  • 6 years ago

    It's not really "million year old rust". The iron oxides in the granite don't start rusting until the slabs are cut and the surface is exposed to moisture and air. That's great if you don't mind how it looks. But mine is white with veins of pink, purple and grey.

    Mine was a remnant and was stored outside in the yard. After I bought it it sat outside for another year until it was installed. The rust really increased during that time. In my earlier post the owner of the granite yard told me to use wood bleach which is different than what you use on your clothes. After it was installed in the bathroom I made a paste with the wood bleach and put it on the spots with a damp cloth over it to keep it from drying out. It took a few times of applying , but it really took the orange rust spots out and it looks so much nicer.

  • 6 years ago

    Would you please share which wood bleach you used, or where you purchased it? Did you use the powder or liquid kind? Thank you!

  • 6 years ago

    I think I got it at OSH a long time ago. Its It's in a small plastic carton. It is oxalic acid crystals. It is a coarse powder like laundry detergent.


  • 2 years ago

    I have white ice. I chose a slab and it had no hint of yellow coloring or rust. 3 months after install there are areas that are turning yellow, and we have not moved in yet or used it. I wasn't expecting this at all, as I told it was sealed and that the color should stay as it is if sealed. Others have told me their white ice counter hadn't changed since install.

    So all in all, had I known this was possibly going to happen I would have chosen something else, I personally don't care for rust.

    Our countertop company is going to come take a look at it next week to see if they can help.

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    But it's naaaatttuuuurrrrallll.

  • 2 years ago

    I appreciate that it is natural. If it was going to happen then I wish I would have had that knowledge prior to purchasing and installing. Not after. I loved the stone for the natural state it was in when I first chose it 😆

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Not all natural occurring iron deposits rust, no way to know for sure beforehand.

  • 12 months ago

    Jessica Zepczyk - We also installed white ice 3 weeks a go and i am seeing lot of green and yellow spots. Can you please share an update on your granite issues?

  • 11 months ago

    We were able to get that slab replaced free of cost. It got worse after trying to fix it. First picture is the original in different stages. Second is the one we replaced it with



  • PRO
    11 months ago

    Kavi:


    Where are your green spots appearing please? Fabricators use an accelerant on Super Glue that can cause green bloom. Some have had success removing it with oven cleaner. Test inconspicuously first please.